“MAKE IT STOP!” - Annoying Game Mechanics (Part 1/2)

      Have you ever been really excited for a game to come out, only to find out that one of the games core mechanics is truly annoying, almost to the point where you don’t want to play it anymore?

      I recently found this with Lightning Returns: FFXIII and it got me thinking about other game mechanics that can be deal breakers, or are just in general annoying. I took to social networking to ask other gamers what they thought of this, and they came up with some good ideas as well of bad and annoying game mechanics. Lets take a look at them. 

      Time - This being the one that got me to create this post in the first place. Lightning Returns runs on a 13 day clock. However it starts with only 7 days and you have to complete objectives in order to extend this. The clock is a constant figure on your heads up display and while you have some control and can stop the clock, this is only for short periods of time. 

      For me, I don’t need a clock adding a major sense of urgency into everything I do      (Especially in an RPG). When I play RPG games I want to enjoy the game and the story, I want to explore places and really get into the world they are creating. The time element immediately pulls me out of this and it feels more like a chore that I have to hurry up and do X, Y and Z before this time. 

      I will eventually finish this game, as over the two previous games I am heavily invested in the storyline. It just now feels more like a chore than an enjoyable gaming experience

      Stealth - This mechanic can be very polarizing for people. Some people really like the idea of being able to sneak around, subdue enemies and still complete the main objectives. Others (myself included) like the more blatant approach with guns blazing. Several of the folks who commented on this mechanic noted that stealth usually is a choice, and that another annoying factor about this mechanic is forcing you into a fight, ultimately breaking the feel of stealth. 

      Also mentioned with the stealth was the idea that when there are choices, both should have the same rewards. Most often one mode is favored over the other, and usually for an arbitrary reason (as opposed to a storyline or logical reason). 

      Pay To Win/Pay Wall/Subscription - Another annoying mechanic was anything that really involved money beyond the initial purchase. Lets tackle these one at a time:

      Pay to win - Their are many competitive games that give you the option to pay to win or to essentially be better than your opponent. From First Person Shooters (FPS) to Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA) and many other games (Card Games - Hearthstone!). These games immediately split their population by those who will pay, and those who are playing the game until they hit the Pay Wall - the point where they have to pay to win. This ultimately can ruin games because its basically who is willing to fork over money. 

      Pay Walls - As mentioned above, pay walls are where you can no longer progress or win a game until you pay money. Free to play games are notorious for this, and most mobile free games have some semblance of this. Candy Crush is a great example, once you get far enough, paying is your only way to continue. 

      I understand that for free games, their has to be a way to make money. However if games like “Flappy Bird” have taught us anything, Ad revenue seems to generate more than enough cash. Most gamers would much rather pay an upfront cost rather than play a game, get invested, and then SLAM pay wall. It just an easy way to make people angry and quit the game. 

      Subscription - I believe this annoying mechanic has gotten better over the years, however to many it is a deal breaker. The idea of having to pay a monthly fee for some gamers is just out of the question. My thought on this is why haven’t these game companies thought of making a game subscription only? What I mean by that is rather than the upfront cost that we pay for the game ($60-ish dollars) just charge the subscription fee and let them play. This would get them four months of play time, and I think would bring many more players to your worlds. 

      Obviously this problem is mainly for MMORPG’s something I have discussed quite a bit about. Not only are players paying for a game, with new content developed regularly, but it is also a social experience. 

      Games like Guild Wars 2 continue to shatter this model however with their ability to make new content regularly without a subscription. However they make money in other ways. 

      This is part 1 of 2, next week we will cover: Multiplayer Progression Systems, Quick Time Events, Bad AI, and Filler quests. Hope to see you then!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back - Initial Thoughts on D&D Next

      So about two weeks ago my usual gaming group decided to transition from 4th edition to D&D Next, which is the newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons that will be coming out sometime this summer. By many this is a welcome change as it has many of the features that 4th edition was missing, and has once again allowed players to really start to tweak specific elements and not have to follow a strict class structure. 

      However, I hope the play test materials are only scratching the surface of what the edition will entail. In general skills have been downplayed drastically, and everything has been minimized (HP and Damage of note). 

      I believe that much of this is to basically revert back to basics because of the drastic reaction 4th edition received. Most people really liked 3/3.5 edition and is why we have seen a whole new game based on essentially those rules (Pathfinder). 

      Will this new model be successful? It can be, and until then I’m going to enjoy trying to find as many ways as possible to break it (or rather test it out.) 

      …Well as long as my DM allows me to (ie. keeps me alive) 

FFXIV - How A Realm Reborn Kept Me Hooked Through 50 Levels

      Yesterday myself along with seven other Warriors of Light marched into Castrum Meridianum, disabled their security system, marched into the Pratorium and destroyed the Garlean’s Ultima Weapon. This was the climax of the major storyline of Final Fantasy XIV and once completed brings you into the endgame content of this MMORPG. 

      If you read the previous article I wrote about the MMO Trap, you know that my thoughts on MMORPGs are that they ultimately run stale if you do not have a consistent group of people to play with. FFXIV is the first MMORPG I have played in which I can say I have completed the main storyline and reached end game content. I wanted to write about the reasons I believe this is.

      First and foremost the storyline is actually compelling! The characters and plot line in FFXIV is thorough and they have managed to create characters that you actually care about in the story. I won’t reveal any major plot points but their are parts betrayal and people need to be rescued and overall this provides great motivation to keep pushing on. I believe voice acting in particular adds to this sense of urgency, as well as the full-motion-video (FMV) sequences. 

     Another reason is that level grinding, when necessary didn’t feel like a complete chore. Their are some instances in which you have to level grind in order to proceed in the story. This tends to be where often I would loose interest in the game. In FFXIV it is quite easy and painless to level up if you know how to. FATE Grinding and running the correct instances offer bonuses to experience points and make leveling up quite easy. Also, the only real point I felt like I had to “grind” for experience was between levels 46-49 in which I had to grind through cause their was a large gap in levels for the story quests. I felt that this was odd, but since I was so close I trudged through. Again this grinding took approximately 3 days of playing to accomplish, so nothing major. 

      In seeing the previews for the new content being releases for patch 2.2 and in seeing how they transition from completion of the main story into end game content it seems they already knew how to keep players hooked. They are keeping the same compelling content from the main storyline into this new content they are adding. This is outstanding news and actually providing me a reason to play regardless of whether or not I have a consistent group to play with. I would love to have that group, but should it not happen, the great content the folks over at Square Enix are generating should keep me interested for the future. 

      The only danger in this model is that going and leveling up a new character provides little difference in the game experience. I feel like other games (WoW in particular) have spent more time in creating unique perspectives of a similar plot line. In FFXIV you get a worldly perspective fairly early in the game, and it stays that way throughout the remainder. “Replay” value as it were is diminished in this sense. Luckily, leveling 2nd and third classes is even easier and faster than the first. 

      What do you think? Any other MMO’s that provide a similar storyline experience? Post in the comments!

Album Review - "Is There Anybody Out There?" by A Great Big World

      So I haven’t done an album review in a really long time, but I rather enjoyed this album so I though I would give it a go. 

 

      A Great Big World is a musical group composed of singer/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino. This group became particularly popular starting in 2013 with their song “This Is The New Year” which was popularized by the television show “Glee”.

      “Is There Anybody Out There” is their first album for this group. As a genre they are classified ad indie pop/rock, and as you will see in the review other influences pop in as well. 

      Debut albums can often define a group for better or worse, it is rare that a debut album will have a very clear path. “Is There Anybody Out There” seems to fall right into this area as their album has a little bit of everything, some good, some not so much. 

      The album features these two singer/songwriters in nearly every song, and as a group with two vocalists, their voices really shine in nearly every track. “Already Home” (Track #3) is a really strong ballad featuring both voice individually and you can really appreciate the subtle differences in their voices. “Rockstar”, “You’ll Be Okay”, “Land Of Opportunity”, and “This Is The New Year” really showcase the harmonies that these songwriters have incorporated. 

      While listening you will likely get vibes of Ben Folds in many of these tracks, as their is a major piano influence as well in several of these tracks. 

      I also enjoyed the soul/country influence of the tracks “You’ll Be Okay” and “Shorty Don’t Wait” they provided some nice diversity of sound in the album. Also this shows the depth of their writing and performance as musicians as they songs are different stylistically, not only from the accompaniment but in the vocals and overall performance. 

      Unfortunately their are two tracks which pull me right out of the continuity of this album. The first being “Everyone Is Gay”. I found this song to be obnoxiously campy and almost tongue and cheek about the issue. While I’m sure this song was with good intentions and to bring more awareness and call for acceptance. I felt this song from a writing and performance standpoint was just out of place. The second track being “Cheer Up!” which also was quite campy and childish sounding with no real reason. Compared to the rest of the tracks which come off as polished with a mature sound, these two tracks felt quite out of place. 

      Finally we have their major hit, “Say Something”. The duet with Christina Aguilera is a great piece on so many levels. The harmonies are excellent and performed well, the subtlety and minimalism of the instruments and vocal lines really contribute to the text of the song. I really enjoy this song a lot. What surprises me is that they have it on the album twice, one with and without Aguilera. I’m surprised on the one without Aguilera they did not still perform it as a duet, especially when they have two vocalists! But I suppose they must have intended this to be a male/female duet. If that was the case, they should have removed the “solo” version as it is unnecessary. 

      Ultimately this album is a solid first effort from this group. I believe they have found a great sound and are both really talented songwriters that can look forward to having a great career. I can’t wait to hear more in the future.

The MMO Trap - How the genre lives and dies by the social experience

     

      I figured this week I would talk about a game genre that has been dominating my gaming hours lately - MMORPGs. This genre massively popularized by the dominant World of Warcraft (WOW) has been around now over 15 years and has seen many different blends and uses of the core concepts. Today I want to talk about my experiences with some of these games and how all of the games in this genre fall into what I have termed the “MMO Trap”. 

      I have been playing Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn, this game had a lot of appeal from the get go for me. I have been a major Final Fantasy/Square Enix fan for many years, and this game is full of references for the fans, and utilizes many core staples of the final fantasy franchise (Chocobos, Mogs, Materia, etc.). Also the story is actually quite compelling, with decent voice acting and an interesting story arc that takes you through to end game content. 

      First and foremost, I’m amazed the FFXIV was able to pull this off, the idea of having one solid storyline throughout for the “whole” game is quite amazing, especially when it’s compelling and interesting. The only game that I have played where their is a somewhat compelling storyline has been WoW, and that is only the more recent expansions. (Cataclysm, and I assume Mists, although I haven’t played it). 

      At any rate, the grind to end game is pretty tame for most games, and if you find something to commit yourself to making it (story elements, gameplay, other players, etc.) then its not too bad of a grind fest. It isn’t until you hit end game content (Or a certain amount of time passes) that you hit the MMO trap. 

      The MMO trap is the fact that your commitment to an MMO once the gameplay has been micromanaged, characters min/maxed, and lore thoroughly explored, is solely based on the social experience you have with other players. In other words:

“If your not playing with people you know, you will ultimately leave the game”

      Now this doesn’t mean you won’t come back for new content, gameplay, or mechanics when released. But your role in this game is to enjoy the game only, which I believe means you are missing out on what sets MMO games apart, which is the social environment. 

      To be honest, I really haven’t had a really great MMO experience, I play them because they are games, and that the gameplay is fun and the stories/content are interesting for a time. But once I hit that “wall”, I’m usually out. 

      I think the next step in the evolution of these games is to really ramp up the social aspects of these games. These games need to find more social opportunities for the players beyond needing others to quest/raid. Not sure how this could be easily accomplished, but I like how some games (like FFXIV) have put these groups as part of their lore. FFXIV uses the concept of free companies as their guilds, and is well represented in the lore. 

      What are your thoughts on this? Those of you who play MMO’s regularly - is this true? How about those who do not play them at all - what has turned you off? I’d love to hear your thoughts.